Dan Hubrich of Mountain View Mortgage is back and this month he’s talking about current legislation being proposed in Congress and what that means for home buyers.

This month I’d like to talk about the pending bill in congress that would provide a $15,000 tax credit for first time home buyers. Back in 2008, the Obama administration passed a $7,500 tax credit for first time buyers which helped a lot of people get into their first home. This one is a little bit different but will be better in many ways. In order to qualify, the buyer must not have owned a home in the past 3 years. They also must make less than 160% of the median income of the area, the home cannot be more than 110% of the median sales price of the area, and finally, the buyer must live in the home as their primary residence for 4 years after closing. If those guidelines are met, then the buyer gets to keep the money and never has to pay it back! Another key difference between this proposed tax credit VS the one we saw in 2008 with the Obama administration is that this would be available as upfront funds to be used toward closing costs and/or down payment VS just a tax rebate on federal taxes. This money could also be used in conjunction with other down payment assistance programs to provide even more money towards a home purchase. Let’s keep a close eye on what happens with this bill because if it’s passed by congress, this will basically be free money available for the taking for first time buyers and will give them even more reason to buy vs rent.